DCA orders St. Peter MP to remove a number of billboards; constituent asks if ALP fears competition
The Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Peter has been issued with a stop order by the Development Control Authority (DCA) and instructed to remove the billboards he has been erecting in the constituency.
The enforcement notice has been stapled to the billboards, and if the MP fails to remove the structures, they will be broken down.
Two gigantic billboards, about 16 plywood-sheets strong, have been erected at Parham Corner; however, no posters have been placed on them as yet.
One of the structures is directly in line with another signboard, painted bright red, that belongs to the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) candidate, Rawdon Turner, and which has not attracted any stop order.
Yet another humongous billboard has been erected in the vicinity of the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, and this, too, has attracted a DCA stop order.
A fourth billboard in Parham, in the vicinity of the basketball court, has been ordered down, in addition to some in Pares Village. The latter are just the bare frames, but have to be removed, as demanded by the DCA.
One of these billboards was blocking a smaller structure that features a poster of Turner.
There is a seventh billboard in the vicinity of the Transport Board which has been tagged for removal, as well.
Some people are describing the situation as an apparent billboard war among former comrades.
Meanwhile, a St. Peter resident who says she does not support Michael is, nevertheless, taking his side in these circumstances.
“It’s over a year now that Turner alone put up billboards all over the constituency, and it wasn’t even election season. And it’s years now that the Prime Minister and his family put up Christmas posters across the whole country. All in July, Christmas still ah go on!!
“What happen now: They afraid of the competition?” the young woman asks.
It is unclear whether MP Michael received permission from the DCA before erecting his billboards. But other media outlets report that he sought permission for 66 billboards and was granted approval for 15.
Some of the billboards put up at strategic locations by the Antigua Labour Party have fallen over already, reportedly due to poor construction and strong winds.
